Tokyo stocks flat by noon, eyes on US-NKorea tensions

13 August 2017, 11:09 | Kelvin Horton

Tokyo stocks flat by noon, eyes on US-NKorea tensions

Growing tension between the U.S. and North Korea boosted the Swiss franc, the Japanese yen, gold and government bonds as investors sought out traditional safe havens at a time of geopolitical uncertainty.

He said: "The response that the North Korean nation was considering a missile strike on the United States base in Guam was the equivalent of a two fingered response to the USA president, and there is a danger that this war of words between two leaders with large egos could get out of control". Falls of just 0.3% were recorded by both the Dow Jones industrial average and the more broad-based S&P 500 in early trading. Brent crude, used to price global oils, declined 29 cents to $51.61 per barrel in London.

Geopolitics is supporting G7 government bond prices as investors rush to safer-assets after U.S President Trump warned North Korea that it will face "fire and fury" if it keeps threatening the U.S. Japan was closed on a public holiday.

This news drove up U.S. Treasury yields, making the U.S. Dollar a more attractive investment.

European stocks have fallen for a third day on Friday and look headed for their worst week since early November a year ago, as US President Donald Trump's rhetoric on North Korea over the past few days made investors risk averse.

Global markets tumbled Wednesday as US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un ratcheted up their confrontational rhetoric, with the nuclear-armed North rolling out a plan to launch missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam.

Inflation has risen 1.7 percent over the past 12 months, suggesting that inflation pressures remain well under control.

In Hong Kong, shares ended lower, but developers provided support. "What's happened in North Korea is enough to do that".

The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.7% at closing, France's CAC 40 fell 1.4% after a vehicle hit a group of soldiers in Paris in what is thought to have been a deliberate act, and a fall in bond yields saw Germany's DAX down 1.1%.

The dollar weakened after news that USA producer prices unexpectedly fell in July, recording their biggest drop in almost a year and pointing to a further moderation in inflation that could delay a Federal Reserve interest rate increase.

Investors retreated from several of this year's winners on Thursday, including shares of large USA technology companies and biotechnology firms.

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